Developing the Multidimensional Position 4, Anders Sommer 1
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DEVELOPING THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL POSITION 4 ANDERS SOMMER FECC 2015-2018 ASSIGNMENT 2 HANDED IN: 12.02.18 DEVELOPING THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL POSITION 4, ANDERS SOMMER 1 Table of content Introduction 2 Tendencies at highest international level 3 The four types of position 4 6 Characteristics of a multidimensional position 4 8 Development concept 9 Development concept U10-U16 10 Development concept U16-U20 13 Understanding the multiple pathways 15 Individual development plan 15 How to teach? 19 Conclusion 20 References list 21 Certificate of Authorship I, Sommer, Anders, hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person. DEVELOPING THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL POSITION 4, ANDERS SOMMER 2 Introduction The power forward position seems to be in a very interesting evolution these years. Different types of players fill the position giving the lineups completely different looks and characteristics. And it’s probably the position with the most adjusted definitions; ‘point-forward’, ‘stretch-4’, ‘combo-forward’, ‘shooting-forward’ and as defined by Drvaric (2017) the most modern type of power forward; ‘the multidimensional position 4’. Currently, two long ivory-white players from Northern Europe, just in their early twenties, are taking the basketball world by storm. Kristaps Porzingis and Lauri Markkanen are bringing a combination of length and shooting stroke to the NBA that only Kevin Durant can compare to. But they are more than just tall skinny shooters. They are taking the skill set of +210cm players to a whole new level and redefine the common perception of a power forward. Less than five years ago I assisted on the Danish U16NT and we met Finland with Markkanen on the team in the semis of div.B championship in Sarajevo. His talent for shooting was obvious to everyone and a clear prospect. But he lacked strength and was actually one-dimensional. The Helsinki Academy must get great recognition for his development. I saw him again at the Eurobasket in Helsinki this September. He was absolutely amazing and to follow his career will hopefully be a joy. The multidimensional pos.4 of the future. This assignment will present an individual development concept of a pos.4 – focusing merely on the technical and tactical aspects. First I look at tendencies at highest European level and present different types of pos.4 and define the multidimensional pos.4. Then I build a general development concept for this position from U10-U20 and lastly I apply this to a Danish U15 player with the physical potential of position 4. DEVELOPING THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL POSITION 4, ANDERS SOMMER 3 Tendencies at highest international level Before describing how to develop a pos.4 for the highest international level, I will first do a short analysis of the pos.4 players currently at the highest international level. Below are the accumulated stats from Eurobasket 2017 (fig.1). The primary pos.4 player from each top-16 team has been selected from the criteria that he was the most physical forward and most of the time played next to a true pos.5. For example, Cedi Osman (listed as SF, 200cm) was the most physical forward among the primary rotation for Turkey often leaving them with a small ball lineup. Slovenia did the same, even more successfully, often starting without Anthony Randolph and having Edo Muric (SF, 202cm) as the second biggest player on the floor next to Gasper Vidmar. The small ball lineup is a clear tendency in international basketball. On the other hand, Pau Gasol (C, 215cm) is also included below since he mostly played next to Marc Gasol. Playing with two bigs is less common nowadays but with both the Gasol brothers and the Hernangomez brothers available for Spain, the inside based lineup made sense. Fig.1 Eurobasket 2017 accumulated stats for pos.4 players Source: www.fiba.basketball/eurobasket/2017 Fig.1 shows an average height of 207cm and 12.7 pts per game. The 3-pt shooting is worth noticing with 37% which is higher than the total of 34% for all players in the championship and pos.4’s are shooting more than three 3-pointers per game. The pos.4’s are good rebounders with 5.3 reb per game and average almost two assist. DEVELOPING THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL POSITION 4, ANDERS SOMMER 4 Looking at the Euroleague (fig.2) and applying the same criteria, the primary pos.4 has been selected from each team. The numbers are similar, yet a little lower. Averages of 9.8 pts, 4.9 reb and 1.4 ass are a bit lower. 3-pt percentage is exactly the same with 37% although only from 2.3 3-pt shots per game. Fig.2 Euroleague 2017/2018 accumulated stats for pos.4 players, after 22 rounds (10.02.18) Source: www.euroleague.net The average height is also a bit lower in the Euroleague, 204cm, which can explained by Porzingis (218cm), Gasol (215cm) and Markkanen (213cm) raising the Eurobasket average. These three extraordinary NBA players are also responsible for raising the Eurobasket average in pts and reb on this position. The 2-pts percentage of 55% in both competitions also proves that pos.4’s are very effective finishers. Defensive balance In the NBA, the term ‘stretch-4’ has become more and more common the last decade to describe power forwards with the ability to shoot the 3-pointer and thereby stretch the floor and the defense. In general, the 3-pt shot is playing a bigger part in the fast-paced outside game and a team like the Houston Rockets is taking this to a level never seen before averaging 42.6 3-pt attempts and 15.6 3-pt makes per game1. The discussion often turns to the defensive downside of the stretch-4 since the shooters have a 1 as of 11.02.18 (nba.com) DEVELOPING THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL POSITION 4, ANDERS SOMMER 5 reputation of being less effective on the defensive end. Defense is harder to evaluate statistically and the defensive balance of stretch-4’s can be difficult to judge. Fig.3 below is an analysis of this made on NBA pos.4 players in 2013 (Harper, 2013). A defensive rating has been calculated by subtracting the ‘team defensive rating with this player covering the pos.4 spot’ from the ‘team defensive rating without this player covering the pos.4 spot’. This is matched with shooting abilities ‘effective FG-%’ which includes all shooting, not only the 3-pt shot. Fig.3 NBA stretch-4’s: Defensive rating vs. Effective FG-% Bad defensive rating Bad shooting Good shooting Bad defensive Bad defense Good defensive Bad shooting Good shooting rating Good defense Good defense Effective FG-percentage Source: cbssports.com (Harper, 2013) Since most of the players are above the defensive 0-line, it implies that these stretch-4’s have a negative impact on the defense. I’m not sure how exact and reliable this method is and the results should not be over-interpreted. My main point is that defensive qualities must be remembered when evaluating the modern pos.4 who tends to shoot the 3-pointer more than in the past. Key notes from this section: • Small ball is a tendency, yet the average height of pos.4 is 204-207cm. • Pos.4 produces 10-13 pts, 5-6 reb, 2 ass (on average). • Pos.4 shoots 37% and 2-3 shots per game from 3-pt range (on average). • The defensive impact is hard to measure but important to remember. DEVELOPING THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL POSITION 4, ANDERS SOMMER 6 The four types of position 4 In his clinic on pos.4, Drvaric (2017) presented four types of pos.4. I will describe them one by one adding examples of high level players mentioned in fig.1 and fig.2. “The pos.4-5 power” The inside oriented pos.4 can also play pos.5 and his game is physical and strong around the basket. His power gives him an advantage in the rebound game and he is strong in the low post game. Defensively he can guard both inside positions but might struggle if switching to a pos.1-2. The Gasol brothers often played this position during Eurobasket to give massive size inside and added shooting ability. Shorter players like Kyle Hines (CSKA, 198cm) and Bryant Dunston (Anadolu, 203cm) from the Euroleague are other good examples of this position but without the 3-pt shooting ability. Despite being undersized for guarding pos.5 they compensate by being extremely strong and using their power laterally to get taller players out of position. Milan Macvan and Nicolo Melli should also be mentioned as some of the most effective players of this type with particularly strong defensive qualities. “The pos.4-3 player” This type of player is a pos.3 used at the pos.4 spot. His natural outside game makes him more of a scorer and a difficult matchup for a slower opponent. He can speed up the game and can be used interchangeably with pos.3 in the offensive concept. Defensively he can struggle guarding the low post and might have a hard time on switches with pos.5. Cedi Osman and Mindaugas Kuzminskas are good examples of this type from Eurobasket. Both of them shooting more than five 3-pointers per game is a good sign that they are most comfortable with the outside game. With the Golden State Warriors often using Draymond Green on pos.5 and Kevin Durant on pos.4 this trend is getting popular and Slovenia won the Eurobasket often playing with four players defined as pos.1-3.